March 28, 2009

I am a very lucky woman. My anniversary and birthday present this year from my family was a set of the Culinary Institute of America's (CIA) Culinary Arts and Baking DVDs. I was beyond speechless and praying that sounds reminiscent of a preteen girl at a Jonas Brothers concert wouldn't suddenly erupt from my mouth. Wow! My family knows me so well and couldn't have given me anything that would have pleased me more.

After watching all the DVDs, I decided that I wanted to work my way through the CIA's Baking and Pastry book. They are so many skills that I want to develop and work on. Plus, I thought some of you might be interested in sharing my journey with me.

Starting this week, I will begin baking my way through the book starting with breads. On Sundays, I will post the baking schedule for the week along with a shopping list with resources. The two recipes I tackle for the week will be posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Wow. Are you planning to convert to gluten free as you go? I assume the book is not written gluten free (although I couldn't tell for sure from the sample pages). I've always wondered about making bagels too. This would be a fun challenge, but I've banned myself from internet baking challenges, especially with leaving town in a week!

Happy Birthday/anniversary! I understand the excitement over the present. I recently got the CIA Gluten Free Baking cookbook (didn't even know they had one), and it's great!I'll look forward to your posts.Karen